Most of us will wait until after the holidays to start to think about health and fitness goals. But why wait till then? Why not get a head-start and actually start to experience and notice many of the benefits of exercise and a healthy diet by the time the holidays roll around. Think of how far ahead you'll be on January 1st!
Review the following list. This is an overview of some of the basic actions that you can start to take immediately to help reduce body fat. There are 11 things that you must commit to in order to achieve this goal in a safe, effective, permanent and quick fashion. You can choose to focus on just a couple or tackle all of them at once.
- You should exercise aerobically 5-7 days each week for 20-60 minutes each session. You must exercise at an intensity that gets you huffing and puffing, sweating and at a perceived exertion of 5-8/10. Activities like walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, rowing, stair climbing or fitness classes will do the trick.
- You should condition your muscles with resistance training workouts 2x/week. One set of 8-12 reps of a variety of exercises is sufficient. Follow each workout with some stretching.
- You must eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks each day.
- You must have 5 vegetable servings and 3 fruit servings each day.
- You must drink 8 glasses of water each day.
- You should limit or eliminate alcohol from your diet.
- You should stop eating 3 hours before bedtime.
- You must make a commitment to maintaining a more active daily lifestyle.
- You must be sure to get enough sleep. Sleep is recovery. If you do not sleep enough, you will not be prepared for each workout session and you will not function optimally.
- You must control your stress levels. Identify your stressors. Outline methods that help you to reduce your stress and practice them regularly.
- You should complete an Activity and Nutrition log every day to help you stay on track with your goals.
Keep this list on your fridge or somewhere visible to remind you of some the actions you can initiate immediately. It may help you to get through the holidays with minimal bulging and weight gain. Over the holidays you may want to focus on, instead of losing weight, just attempting to maintain your present weight. This would be a success in itself! Most people put their health and fitness on the back-burner over the holidays but it doesn't have to be that way. Why experience the traditional 8-10 pound holiday weight gain when you can just focus on a few of the above tips and maintain a healthier fitness level and physique? Avoid using a New Year's Resolution or some other extraneous event to motivate you to change your behaviors. Do it today! |
